I’m collecting these through the AFINewsHQ site via their blogspot from back in '09. I’d like to personally thank them for their hardwork over the years. If it wasn’t for them, this info likely would no longer exist.

Through reading their articles from over the years, I did learn that the DF forums were in fact still vBulletin, which saddens me. I’ve used vBulletin back in '09 actually and switched (my other forum I run) forum software due to the clumpy feeling.

Anyway, I was also reminded of the old DF package cost of $30, so naturally over time and in today’s day and age… costs always go up. We just paid $64 for the Blood package. Feel free to visit the link at the bottom of the post and check out the comments, etc.

**_

Anyway, here are the posts, newest to oldest:

_**

The message directly below, taken from DeviantArt on November 27, 2013; reportedly from AFIHQ as well: source

Finally the day we’ve all been anxiously awaiting is upon us, The DF is re-opening!

This time you can choose between a $5 Deluxe membership or a $65 Premium membership. Head on over here for more details.

If you are already a lifetime DF member, you will receive an email with a redemption code to re-activate your membership. In addition, once you have done this you can buy a replacement DF card for $1, or the merch from the premium package for $45."

Anyone interested, get your asses over there!

-M

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2010

Possible new DF packages soon!

Gavin has stated on the DF that there will soon be new packages with the membership, as I and several others speculated when the packages sold out a few weeks ago. Those who picked up some of the last Cinderblock packages should be getting their membership activated on the DF soon! Anyone ordering once the packages are back will be receiving a new package. The statement reads:
“To those still waiting to join us after we’ve played hard-to-get for a year – your time is coming fast! We’ve been getting the NEW membership package together and are getting excited to have so many friends eager to join us. We hear you, we’re just making sure the place looks nice and your box of stuff is cool. Hang tight. If you don’t have a free site account yet, now is a great time to do that. (It’s a necessary step for becoming DF.)”

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2010

Despair Faction Signups Return!

After almost a year, the DF signups are back up. For now you can buy the membership package on AFI’s website, available in Mens and Girls. The links from the DF are still not working. It will be a while until you get your DF access online according to Gavin, as there are still things to be worked out on the site.

Enjoy!

MONDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2010

DF Members: Choose the color of the AFI EP repressing!

Gavin has posted a poll on the Despair Faction allowing DF members to vote on the color the next A Fire Inside EP 7" repress will be. It was released on Adeline Records and, if this happens, it would be the fourth repress. The colors are White, Purple, Red, Blue and Clear. Go to despairfaction.com to vote!

SUNDAY, AUGUST 29, 2010

Monday AZ Show: Free Tickets For DF Members

The Despair Faction is giving away free tickets to the Phoenix, AZ show tomorrow. To enter to win a ticket, go to the DF section of the official message board and follow the instructions. Once you’ve entered, a drawing will take place. To see the date and venue information, click here.

Our writer Brandon will be attending this show, and he wil be interviewing Jade for our video interview series. You can submit questions for him here.

THURSDAY, MAY 6, 2010

Lee Martin Will No Longer Be AFI’s Webmaster

If any of you follow Lee Martin on Twitter, you may have noticed that he has decided to leave his work at Silva Artist Management and instead work freelance. He wrote earlier this week “So, the answer is yes, I will be freelancing again fulltime in 3 weeks.” When we asked him whether or not he would still be webmaster of the respective sites he is on, including the Despair Faction, he responded with a simple “negative.” There is no news on who, if anyone, will replace him. We wish Lee the best of luck with his future endeavors.

SUNDAY, MAY 2, 2010

Despair Faction Gets An Official Facebook Page

The Despair Faction has finally gotten an official Facebook page! In the past, there have been fan-made DF pages that were never updated with content. Despair Faction members and non-members alike can join the group here.

Also, the message boards are now integrated with Facebook Connect, meaning you can link your Facebook profile to your DF profile for a more personalized experience. You can find this feature in the top right navigation of the boards.

DF Administrator Gavin says, “This is the beginning of our integration with interesting and popular sites elsewhere on the Internet.”

MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2010

Despair Faction is again down for maintenance

Thanks to Mary B. for the tip. The board will return soon, according to the message the site displays.
Gavin said a few days ago he still doesn’t know when DF registration will be back, so it is unlikely DF membership will return after this round of maintenance.

MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2010

10th Circle Now Open to Non-DF Members

The 10th Circle, the Despair Faction’s off-topic forum, has been opened to non-Despair Faction members again.
Gavin made a thread to announce it, explaining that “DF registration is still closed due to circumstances beyond our control but we want those of you who are here for AFI to have an opportunity to participate and connect with the larger DF/AFI fan community here on despairfaction.com.”
However, this move may be temporary until registrations, which have been closed since the fall of last year, open back up again. Gavin said, “When DF registration is once again available we will be revisiting this, but don’t worry about that for now. Enjoy.”

FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 2010

DF Reserved Ticket Emails Sent Out

If you are a DF member who sent an email to the Despair Faction regarding the Slims show, check you email. If you haven’t recieved an email saying that you got a reserved ticket, plan on buying a ticket this Saturday at 10 AM PST.
If you were one of the lucky people who did recieve an email, don’t forget to bring the necessary items needed to pick up your ticket. There is always a chance that people who recieved a ticket won’t be able to make it, so continue to check your emails to see if you are granted a ticket later on this week.

MONDAY, MARCH 1, 2010

Despair Faction Undergoing Maintenance (Updated)

(Originally posted on Friday, February 26) The Despair Faction tweeted that they will be working on the boards all weekend, so expect downtime and slowness. This may be something important, and we’ll update if any more information comes up.
Update, 2/27: the DF went down for everybody on Saturday afternoon, and it will be online sporadically or not at all through the weekend. The DF advises that you follow them on Twitter for updates.
Update, 2/28: The DF is still down from time to time, but Gavin has posted a news item on the boards saying, “…we’re hosted on a new and very fast machine, we’re moving to exciting new forum software that you will love, we have a new staff member with special and awesome duties who will be announced soon, and we are preparing for the return of DF registration and the new DF store later this month.”

SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2010

Get Despair Faction priveleges (if you’ve paid)

If you were among the unlucky fans who paid for your Despair Faction membership just before Cinderblock stopped sending out membership packages and therefore you have not yet become a member, here is how to get your priveleges.
Send an e-mail to help@despairfaction.com or use the Contact page and include the following:

Full name

Address

Order confirmation # from either your paper or electronic receipt

Board username

Email address with which you signed up

This will ONLY work if you have already paid but not received your package/DF membership. New sign-ups are not available at this time, and no announcement has been made as to when they will be available.
UPDATE: On the afternoon of January 11, Gavin posted “I have no date to share with you guys right now but it’s certainly not forgotten. Hang tight.”

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2009

Despair Faction to go Mobile

As we reported earlier, the Despair Faction message boards will get a significant upgrade to features included in the recently released vBulletin Gold 4.0.0. One of these features, we now know, is that the boards will be more easily accessible on a mobile phone.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2009

Webzine Interview with the Despair Faction

Front This Scene, a small internet zine, has posted an interview with over 40 Despair Faction members HERE. The project began in early October.
(interview link no longer valid)

We will soon be upgrading the software that powers the Despair Faction site. Lots of cool stuff ahead.

As part of this, we’ll be moving from the current Chapter forum style to a more direct style where the Chapter pages nave threads directly on them. We want to preserve the thousands of exisiting Chapter posts, so we have moved those to the 10th Circle and have closed the existing Chapter forums.

Until the new system comes in, you can find all your old Chapter threads in the 10th Circle, still open and accepting posts (from anyone now). Your Chapter pages also still welcome your posts: http://www.despairfaction.com/group.php_
Please remember that if you are not a Despair Faction member, you will not be able to access these threads.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2009

Despair Faction Signups Temporarily Closed

Gavin, the Despair Faction and OMB administrator, made the following announcement tonight at 11:00 p.m. EST:
“We are closed to new registrations for the time being. We’ll get it back open ASAP. Everyone can still sign up for the site and such, but you cannot upgrade/pay for the DF right now.”

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2009

No DF Line for New York Show

Gavin just posted an announcement on the AFI Message Board saying:
There will not be a DF-only line perk for the NYC show next week due to time and space constraints. We hope to work up an alternate perk but the line will definitely not exist. If you want to be at the front, you’ll need to show up early as with any other show.

Other shows will continue to have this perk, although we will be changing the method of entry soon, so check this space before your show!

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2009

Salt Lake City DF Presale

The DF Presale Password for the Salt Lake City show has been posted by Theory on the DF-exclusive section of the OMB (despairfaction.com). We will not give out the presale password.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2009

Theory posts DF “exclusive” audio (Bowie Cover)

For the first time in many years, the DF gets an audio exclusive. This time, Theory posted a clip of a rehearsal of David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust. DF members can click here to find the thread with the audio. Non-DFers will not be able to access the thread.

The clip was leaked to YouTube.

19:07 PM EST: AFI just posted it on Facebook for everyone to hear. There goes the DF exclusive. We are putting the link here because it was made public for everyone on AFI’s Facebook.